WPRK Comes Alive! at Hard Rock

On Saturday, Feb. 11, 91.5 WPRK, Rollins College’s FM radio station, hosted another one of its WPRK Comes Alive! events, this time held at the Hard Rock Live. WPRK tries to organize a Comes Alive! event a few times per semester to present the Rollins and outer Orlando community with the latest and greatest in local music. With most tickets costing fewer than ten dollars at some of the best venues in Orlando such as the Hard Rock Live and House of Blues, Comes Alive! events are an offer that is difficult to pass up.

Promotions Director and Holt student Rob Soviero played a huge part in organizing the entire night. “A promotional event like this is important for WPRK because it gives WPRK a chance to leave the basement and broadcast live from a world renown[ed] venue such as Hard Rock Live,” he says. This was the first time WPRK broadcasted live from one of their Comes Alive! events. He continues, “It’s equally as important for us being Rollins students, because it gives us a chance to sharpen our event planning and organizational skills, and we learn so much.”

WPRK DJ Whitney Costner introduced all the bands along with some of the WPRK staff members, and The Bash Brothers Rock Block opened the night. The Bash Brothers consist of actual brothers Jonathon ’12 and Peter Fasano ’14, along with David Incorvaia and Spencer Bloor. The Bash Brothers host a weekly show on WPRK dedicated to hard rock, and they certainly brought that sound to their set on Saturday. Not only did they play some fun WPRK jingles that they created, but they also played some original material and covers of Paul Simon, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Toadies.

Peter Fasano expressed his enthusiasm to me after the concert. “Playing at the Hard Rock was awesome, and we are so thankful that WPRK gave us the opportunity to play,” he said. “The sound you get on that stage is huge, the monitors are blaring, the music on stage, bliss. Spencer, Jon, and David all shredded and melted some faces. It was a great experience and we thank you all who came out.”

The Dropa Stone came on next and played a more chill rock sound. Their minutes-long instrumental breakouts reminded me of a so-called “jam band.” They broke out of that rhythm, however, to play a striking cover of the Led Zeppelin classic “Kashmir.” Mad Sexual Genius followed which brought out a good crowd. Their rap and soul infused funk sound was something new to my ears, and the entire band radiated great energy from the audience and had a solid stage presence.

Ratham Stone ended the night and put on an impressive production. They have an eclectic sound that they call a “combination of indie, punk, and rock with some blues.” The highlight of their performance for me was their rendition of Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks.”

Overall, the Comes Alive! event was another success for WPRK. The variety of bands that played left everyone in the audience satisfied. Saabira Mohamed ’14, Concert Coordinator for WPRK, really helped out at the event and also enjoyed herself. “Our Hard Rock Live event was an amazing opportunity to connect the community with WPRK. We showcased amazing local talent at a huge Orlando venue. Comes Alive! was truly an event to behold and an impressive feat for a student organization to pull off. There will be plenty more Comes Alive! shows in the future and they will be bigger and better each time…” she said. Stay tuned for upcoming events from WPRK, including our HUGE 60th anniversary party later this semester!